The Truth!

The moment those words were spoken, Jiang Yi's pupils contracted sharply! An inexplicable sense of unease suddenly crept through the old man's heart. Without him realizing when it had begun, Li Guanqi had grown increasingly inscrutable to him. It was as if every single detail was within his grasp! And now Li Guanqi had said such a thing... Jiang Yi fixed his gaze on Li Guanqi and demanded in a chilling voice, "What do you mean by that?" Over the past seven days, Li Guanqi had seemingly never stepped out of his courtyard. In truth, the figure seen there had merely been his clone all along! During those seven days, he had uncovered far, far too much. Surrounded by the four standing figures, Li Guanqi spoke with a mocking smirk. "Why don't you test whether your human puppet can still control Yuan Hongyi?" Both Yuan Hongyi and Jiang Yi jolted at those words! Yuan Hongyi erupted in an instant! He forcefully wrenched free his right hand that was pinned to the table, and threw a savage punch with his left! Primal energy surged within Jiang Yi's body, but caught completely off guard, he could do no more than raise his arms to block! The power behind this strike far exceeded any realm of strength Yuan Hongyi had previously displayed! Under that horrific deluge of force, Jiang Yi was hurled backward like a flying cannonball. He shattered several stone pillars in succession before finally grinding to a halt at the hall's entrance. "*Gah! Cough, cough!*" Jiang Yi vomited mouthfuls of blood. Both of his arms were shattered, and his chest had caved in. White bone pierced his flesh and protruded outside, while the large pool of blood on the floor was mingled with minced bits of internal organs. Jiang Yi snapped his head up, staring in utter disbelief at Yuan Hongyi as he hissed, "When did you break through to late Void Refinement?!" Yuan Hongyi sneered, slowly tearing away his robes to reveal an upper body pitted with scars and craters. "Behind your back, of course!" "Poisoning me, tearing apart my origin spirit, and turning me into a human puppet—I've had enough of it!" Still unable to believe it, Jiang Yi pulled out the palm-sized human puppet. Golden threads linked from his fingers as he violently snapped the puppet's arm. Yet Yuan Hongyi showed no reaction whatsoever, leaving only shock and disbelief in Jiang Yi's eyes. Originally, Jiang Yi had projected an aura of early Void Refinement, just like Yuan Hongyi. He had believed that by secretly advancing to the mid stage, he would completely overpower everyone else! Never had he imagined... Yuan Hongyi had somehow already reached late Void Refinement! Exuding a ferocious aura, Yuan Hongyi turned his scowling face toward Li Guanqi. "How did you know?" Li Guanqi did not answer. He merely clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Hahahaha! Brilliant! Truly bloody brilliant!" "If I hadn't figured it out early, I would have thought you genuinely couldn't stand Jiang Yi back when you helped Su You rise to power." "You killed someone everyone knew was Jiang Yi's man, using Huang Bin's death to cement the grudge between the two of you." "It made me believe it without a doubt... Truly impressive..." "If I hadn't noticed a few things, I might actually have been fooled by you two." Yuan Hongyi abruptly crushed the two green jade beads in his hand! *Crack! Crack!* The sound of shattering jade rang out, and in the blink of an eye, boundless green light swept through the entire Deliberation Hall! A heavy barrier snapped shut, sealing everyone inside. Yuan Hongyi glared at Li Guanqi with a murderous scowl and sneered, "So what if you know? Today, you die!" *Clang!!* A gleaming golden sword suddenly appeared in Yuan Hongyi's hand. Where the blade pointed, four shadows were forced out of hiding by the barrier! The moment they emerged, the four shadows stepped behind Li Guanqi—the Dark Pavilion Guards! Li Guanqi remained seated in his chair, as calm and composed as ever, looking at the enraged Yuan Hongyi with a smile. "Don't be in such a hurry... There's more..." "If this were all, how could it do justice to such a splendid show?" At that, Li Guanqi shifted his gaze toward Tu Yongsi and chuckled. "Right, oriole?" Tu Yongsi's pupils instantly shrank to needlepoints! His murky eyes narrowed to slits as he looked at Li Guanqi and said evenly, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Li Guanqi waved a hand with a chuckle. "Come now, don't be like that. You still want Old Yuan to remain under your control forever, don't you... you half-step Body Integration old fossil!" Ignoring the rapid shifts in Tu Yongsi's expression, Li Guanqi looked at sword-wielding Yuan Hongyi and smiled. "Yes, it's just as you're thinking." "The little old man you've always looked down upon is the very one who has been supplying you with the antidote." Yuan Hongyi's eyes went wide, filled with doubt and bewilderment. Yet as he watched, the old man's hunched frame gradually straightened, and the weathered face of that frail old man began to shift. Before long, he had transformed into a tall, handsome middle-aged man. No matter how dull Yuan Hongyi might be, he understood everything in an instant! "You dog bastard!! It was you all along!" Enraged beyond measure, the man swung his sword fiercely! "Die, old dog!" The terrifying sword light coalesced into a thirty-foot beam of golden radiance, cleaving straight down at Tu Yongsi's head! *Boom!* Under the overwhelming pressure, every piece of furniture in the hall was pulverized to ash. With an indifferent expression, Tu Yongsi suddenly produced a long saber. A single slash shattered the incoming sword light, and with momentum undiminished, slammed directly into Yuan Hongyi! *Thud!!* Yuan Hongyi flew backward even faster than Jiang Yi had, smashing through everything in his path before crashing heavily against the barrier. *Spurt!* Blood sprayed from his lips. Tu Yongsi stood calmly in place, holding his saber in one hand, his clear black eyes unfathomably deep. He looked at Li Guanqi and murmured, "Just how did you come to know so much?" "And when did you begin suspecting me?" He had always prided himself on his deep scheming, yet he couldn't help but marvel at the monstrous intellect Li Guanqi had displayed from start to finish! Outwardly, the young man had seemed like useless trash—ignorant, reckless, and quick to anger. Yet behind the scenes, he had unraveled everything in little over a month... Such methods... were simply terrifying. Li Guanqi tapped his own nose, gave it a slight twitch, and said in a chilling voice, "The people of the Sha carry a stench that sickens me." "And you... reek of it!" *Boom!* Tu Yongsi's pupils shook violently. He had never imagined that his greatest secret would be laid bare before Li Guanqi! Yet on second thought, he still couldn't fathom it. He had concealed himself flawlessly from the very beginning! "Besides, I started suspecting you back in the teleportation tunnel on our way to the Daochan Domain," Li Guanqi's voice echoed slowly. The hall was dead silent. Jiang Yi was frantically tending to his wounds, suddenly realizing that today, he alone was the lamb waiting for slaughter! Tu Yongsi was far too strong... In the end, Jiang Yi was the weakest person in the entire room! Tu Yongsi narrowed his eyes. "Why would you suspect me back then?" Li Guanqi scoffed. "Back when Song Yunshu was explaining the ties between everyone in the Tianji Pavilion, you chimed in far too much, deliberately steering me to believe that Yuan Hongyi and Jiang Yi were at each other's throats." "Your intent was entirely too obvious."